Is The Best Actress Oscar Curse Real?

Ever heard of the Best Actress Curse? You know, it seems like a woman can't win the Academy Award for Best Actress without subsequently losing her man? It may sound crazy but, according to research, the pattern really exists. With three of the five 2011 Oscar Best Actress nominees in serious relationships, we set out to find out why it happens, how leading ladies can avoid this Hollywood hex and what we non-famous folks can learn from it.

And So It Began
It's difficult to pinpoint exactly when talk of the curse first surfaced, but it seems to have been around nearly as long as Oscar himself. Claudette Colbert may have been the first victim. Her marriage ended in 1935, the same year that she won her Oscar for It Happened One Night. Rumor has it that Colbert's mother so disliked her son-in-law that she prevented him from living in the same house with his wife!

Other cursed Academy favorites include Bette Davis (Dangerous, 1935 and Jezebel, 1938; divorced in '38), Joan Crawford (Mildred Pierce, 1946; divorced the same year), Jane Fonda (Klute, 1971; divorced in '73) and Cher (Moonstruck, 1988; waved bye-bye to bagel baker Rob Camilletti about a year later). And, according to a2010 Los Angeles Times report, "Over the past 12 years, eight of the Best Actress champs busted up with their lovers after winning: Kate Winslet, Reese Witherspoon, Hilary Swank, Charlize Theron, Halle Berry, Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow and Helen Hunt." And of course, we can now add Sandra Bullock to that list.Oscars 2011: Will The Best Actress Curse Continue This Year?

Inspired by this baffling breakup trend, researchers at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management and Carnegie Mellon University conducted a study proving that Best Actress Oscar winners are a high-risk group for divorce and breakups: Oscar-winners were 63 percent more likely to get divorced earlier than non-winners. In fact, taking home one of those little gold guys could shave roughly five years off of a relationship.

Blame The Male Ego
There are plenty of explanations for the Best Actress Curse. The most popular one is the good, old-fashioned Bruised Male Ego Theory. Despite feminism's gains, social norms still dictate that men bring home the bacon, so it's possible that the husbands and boyfriends of these mega-stars can't handle their ladies' success.

"If a man is not confident and secure with his personal and professional life, he will be threatened by a bold, triumphant woman," says Dating coach and YourTango Expert Nicole Johnson. It's the same reason many high-powered businesswomen find their romantic success inversely related to their career achievement: it takes a secure man to marry a high-achieving woman. Do Successful Women Intimidate Men?

No, Blame The Female Ego
Clinical psychologist and YourTango Expert Dr. Adam Sheck sees it differently, citing what might be termed the Boosted Female Ego Theory. "My perspective is that a woman who is in a less-than-stellar relationship prior to the Oscar win now has a boost to her self-esteem and she's no longer willing to accept a relationship where her needs aren't fully met and where she might be treated poorly," says Sheck.

No argument here. We can all get behind a woman who wants out of a bad relationship. But what if things were perfectly fine before Oscar came along? According to Sheck, it's possible that "winning the Oscar might inflate [the actress' ego] so much, that she's ready to upgrade to a better relationship, more in keeping with her new prestige and power." Call that the Enormous Female Ego Theory. Sheck adds, "The man is not always the bad guy here—sometimes the woman is the one acting out her insecurities."

Blame The Lifestyle
Psychologist, life coach and YourTango Expert Dr. Amy Johnson sees the Hollywood lifestyle itself as the possible culprit: "[The Oscar-winning actress] just spent months shooting a film, often on location away from her husband. During that time, she's completely catered to on set. She's already being lauded for her excellent performance. The Oscar hype starts and everyone is talking about how great she is. Anyone in this situation would have an inflated ego.

"Then, she goes back home to her possibly-jealous-and-feeling-wounded husband. He's not stroking her ego; he's wanting to know when dinner will be ready. This can be a huge adjustment for the woman. It may lead her to wanting an upgrade, or it may lead to her wondering why her husband doesn't appreciate her like the rest of the world does. Either way, it's stressful." Winning an Oscar turns out to be a perfect storm of marriage-threatening elements. 7 Hollywood Husband And Wife Oscar Winners

Blame No One; It's Just A Coincidence
But dating coach and YourTango Expert Evan Marc Katz, is reluctant to place the blame on either the man or woman in these situations. Instead, he suggests that the curse is just a coincidence, created by a public "looking for messages when there is no message." According to Katz, "Hollywood is a weird, toxic environment. These are already weak marriages, so it's not surprising when a famous couple breaks up. When a couple makes it—that's news."

Katz makes a good point: celebrity relationships are not known for their stability. But whether stars break up because of awards or just because the wind blows, they sure could use some advice for making their love last longer.

Is there a solution, for both celebrities and regular women who are facing these issues? Click to keep reading on YourTango and get our Oscars 2011 predictions here.